1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for recovering the discharge function of an ink-jet printer by suction (referred to as a suction recovery apparatus) and, more particularly, to a multicolor printer suction recovery apparatus for drawing an ink from a nozzle portion for ejecting an ink so as to remove air bubbles therefrom and prevent clogging.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional ink-jet printer has a carriage movable in a given direction along a recording surface. A plurality of fluid ejection recording units are mounted on the carriage so as to perform image recording. In a multicolor ink-jet printer of this type, when air bubbles are formed in the fluid discharge recording unit or when a nozzle portion thereof is clogged, the carriage is set at a predetermined position, e.g., a home position, which does not oppose the recording surface. A suction recovery apparatus disposed at the home position draws ink by suction from the nozzle portion, thereby removing air bubbles and preventing clogging.
In such a multicolor ink-jet printer, when ink suction is performed, the suction recovery apparatus must be reliably coupled to the fluid discharge recording units. However, in the conventional suction recovery apparatus, a plurality of cap members are integrally moved toward the nozzle portions of the fluid discharge recording units. Therefore, when the horizontal positional relationship of the cap holder, the carriage, and the like is undesirably shifted, the plurality of cap members cannot be firmly coupled to the corresponding fluid discharge recording units. For this reason, the cap holder, the carriage, and the like must be aligned so as to firmly couple the cap members to the fluid discharge recording units, resulting in cumbersome adjustment.